Mom?
by callmefishtail
Summary: The credits rolled at the end of Shockwave Part 1, but Andy's thoughts continued. (All characters belong to James Duff and Major Crimes.)
1. Chapter 1

Silence. His ears slowly filled with the muffled voices of the two other room inhabitants. This must have been how she had felt when he collapsed. His heart pounding in his chest, he kept his eyes glued to the screen waiting for any motion emerging from the clouds of debris.

Snapping out of his freeze, Andy noticed the young man's distress. Rusty asked a million questions, fearing for Sharon's safety. He took a seat in order to save his knees from giving out on the spot. Andrea pulled out her phone and began dialing, turning away as the person on the other line picked up. Andy radioed to the helicopter pilots in hopes of gathering any information he could.

How many casualties? Too much smoke.

Injury count? Too much smoke.

Can anyone identify Ortiz? Too much smoke.

"And the captain..." Andy paused for a definitive answer.

There was a small dose of static on the other line and the piercing silence fell over the trio once again. The anticipation was nauseating.

"The captain...she should...over...ground."

"R-repeat." Andy stuttered, Rusty sat.

"...Captain appears to be getting up from the ground...could be casualty count in the teens."

Andy released the breath he was unaware had built up in his lungs. Rusty's hands went to his face as he began to exhale. At least she was moving. They told her to be careful, but they both knew she would never back away from duty.

"...dust clearing. We can see only three, scratch that, four motionless bodies. All civilians. Landing momentarily..."

Andy cleared his throat.

"Rusty, why don't you step outside."

"No, what if something happens, I'll-" Rusty stood and began to plead.

"Then I'll come get you." Andy reassured.

Andrea took the trembling boy by the shoulders and led him to the door. At this moment in time, that is exactly what he was. A boy, scared for his mother's life and wondering if he is going to see her again. For lack of a better phrase, Rusty wanted his mother.

As the door closed, Andy was left alone. He leaned against the table and shook his head, rubbing his temples in the process. Almost ready to call Sharon's phone to hear her voice for himself.

"Oh God, paramedics!" Andy heard from one of the pilot's transmitters. His head snapped up, as the smoke began to recede. The helicopter was a mere 30 feet from the ground and the view was becoming unobstructed.

"We need more paramedics, officer down! Code 472."

Andy's heart sank to the floor. Code 472. The code for not just any officer, but a captain. And there was only one captain present in the vicinity. Sharon.

"What's happening?" Andy shouted, louder than he intended.

"Lieutenant," He begged for the pilot's attention, "I need a report!"

"Code 472, Captain Raydor...collapsed...paramedics with...now." The smoke was causing transmission inconsistencies.

The sight on the ground was now being covered by the pilot's body camera. He took off running to where a civilian lied still on the singed grass. After checking the pulse, he uttered a defeated, "Christ."

There was quite the commotion behind the pilot, which drew is attention.

Andy, who had lost all sense of authority and professionalism, began to panic.

"What's going on! Where is she?" His hands gripped the radio.

As the pilot on the ground turned around, life slipped into slow motion for Andy. The sight of Sharon's brown hair tangled around her face while her body lie helpless in the ash almost knocked Andy off his feet. Provenza, a charred mess, was already at her side with two other paramedics placing an oxygen mask on her delicate face.

"No."

Andy steadied himself with the table as the pilot reached Sharon's position on the ground. Provenza's voice could be heard above the commotion, barking orders, as more paramedics pushed through the smog. This time with a stretcher.

"Over here! She was closest to the blast! Watch your step!"

The pilot's view was cut off as the stretcher was brought over. As he began to move to another civilian's body a few feet away, Provenza lowered his voice, although still loud enough for the body mic to pick up. He looked down at his captain, now resting on the stretcher. Andy watched in horror at the scene unfolding through the camera lens.

Provenza's words were urgent as he attempted to keep calm. "You're gonna be fine, Sharon. But you have to keep your eyes open. That's good...Sharon...Sharon!"

The screen want black. The body camera was disconnected.


	2. Chapter 2

_Location: LAPD Headquarters_

He instantly knew where they would take her. Good Samaritan Hospital was only a ten minute drive from the LAPD headquarters, but Andy could make it in five when he had the motive. And motive he had.

He'd forgotten Rusty's presence outside the door, so he nearly knocked the boy off his feet as he swung it open. Never had Rusty seen Andy so unglued. It startled both the boy and Andrea to the point where they were unable to even ask what had happened.

Andy summoned any composure that was left to keep from scaring the boy.

"Your mom is being taken to Good Samaritan's. I'm sure it's just cuts and bruises, but I am going to meet her there." Andy reached for his coat and badge.

"Wait, she was fine! Was there another explosion? Don't tell me she's hurt. She's hurt, isn't she. I-I told her to be careful-" Rusty's mind jumped to every collusion.

"Don't start worrying, Sharon wouldn't want that. I'm just making sure everything is ok."

And with that, Andy practically ran to the elevator, pressing the downward arrow more times than necessary. Anything to make the commute to the hospital go by quicker. He stepped into the elevator car and hit "G." His phone, now grasped between is thumb and palm, began to sound.

 _Provenza_ the screen read. Andy accepted the call after only one buzz.

"She's hurt isn't she." Andy spoke, using the same words Rusty had only moments before.

"She was responsive at the scene, but she was the closest to the explosion. They're taking her to-"

"To Good Samaritan, I figured. I'm in the elevator now." The door opened to the lowest floor and Andy fumbled for the keys in his pocket while rushing to the car.

"Andy, you might should...her...bruising."

"What? You're breaking up." Andy heard three beeps on the other end signaling the call had been dropped.

He cursed under his breath as he finally reached the car door.

 _Location: Good Samaritan Ambulence_

Provenza sat nearby in the back of the bus as a paramedic pumped oxygen through a mask indelicately placed on Sharon's face. He placed an IV in her hand which would provide a numbing agent in the case of internal bleeding.

Sharon's eyes began to twitch as she cringed at the bright light of the ambulance. The paramedic noticed she had awakened and moved into her view.

"Captain, we'd like you to talk to us if you can." The paramedic looked to Provenza to take over.

"Captain. Do you know who I am?" Provenza took her blood stained hand.

"Louie," Was all she could muster. The pain in her abdomen seemed to control everything, including her ability to speak. The paramedic hooked up an additional anesthetic to the IV.

"Good. Tell me about your family." Provenza desperately tried to take her mind off the pain.

"Mmmm Emily, Rusty, Ri..." she moaned as small tears ran down her cheeks.

"The pain will be over soon, Captain, just keep talking." The paramedic added.

"And Andy is...uhh..."

More tears.

Her eyes drooped and she succumbed to the anesthetic that her abdomen was so desperately clawing for.

"Thank you, Lieutenant, she can rest now. We'll arrive momentarily."

Provenza sat in silence, staring at her disheveled hair and the open cut intersecting her cheekbone.

 _Location: Interior Good Samaritan Hospital_

Sharon was whisked away to an "authorized personnel only" zone. Not minutes before she was out of sight, Andy flew through the emergency wing entrance, spotting Provenza as he rounded the corner.

"They took her back a few minutes ago."

A sigh was the only thing to escape Andy's lips. Neither spoke for a few seconds.

"Was it bad." He had to know.

Provenza's hesitation didn't help. He simply nodded and placed a hand on Andy's forearm.

"But she's strong, you know that."

Andy sat. The only thing he could do.

"I gotta call Rusty. He'll be worried sick by now."

Andy dialed his number but didn't have a chance to finish, as Rusty walked through the entrance.

"Andy! Have you seen her? Heard anything?" Rusty was out of breath. He had parked his car in one of the last spots at the end of the parking lot and sprinted to the door.

Provenza piped up in fear of Andy's voice breaking. That was the last thing Rusty needed to witness.

"They took her through those doors a bit ago. We haven't heard anything, yet. But, listen, she was talking in the ambulance. All the way up until they gave her the anesthetic."

Provenza and Rusty took a seat on opposite sides of Andy. They waited for a couple of hours. The time was filled with pacing, phone calls, and paperwork.

After an obscure amount of time preparing for the worst, a doctor emerged from the direction Sharon had disappeared. All three men leaped to their feet, adrenaline surging through their bodies.

"Two broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a concussion. She was lucky."

Holding his breath had become a habit for Andy in the past few hours. He felt his eyes well up as he released his tension and the doctor continued.

"I've glued the cut on her cheek,but the one on her collar bone required a few stitches. If she'd been any closer, she might not have had a shot at recovery."

"Thank you." All other words left Andy's brain as he shook the doctor's hand.

"Oh, and here are her personal items."

The doctor handed Andy a bag before he turned away. The sight of the contents threatened Andy's ability to remain stone-faced.

The two items in the bag were her glasses and her engagement ring.


	3. Chapter 3

233.

The door to her room was slightly ajar, but he hesitated to enter. He had to make sure his emotions were in check before he assessed the damage inflicted upon his fiancé.

Andy stepped through the door frame and peered into the blazing white room. He wondered how any of the patients got any rest with the harsh fluorescent lighting...

He caught his breath, a pattern that had only increased since he arrived at Good Samaritan's. He had seen her under the weather and weak before, but this was an entirely new image.

Sharon's face and arms were pale from dehydration. He noticed the slit on her cheek immediately, and shook his head in utter disbelief. Her collar bone was bandaged in multiple places. He refused to think about how bruised her abdomen was.

It had been four hours. A mere four hours since he had seen her upright and determined.

Andy realized he had been staring at her sleeping form for at least five minutes and moved toward a chair positioned next to her bed. He placed the ziplock bag, containing her ring and glasses, on the bedside table. The nurse had not-so-gently warned him not to disturb her prematurely. She needed to wake up on her own, when her lungs were ready.

For the moment, Sharon was being fed oxygen to keep her heart rate stable. The pain medication and numbing agent caused her heart rate to increase and the doctor wanted to prevent any excessive lung use before the lining had healed.

Andy's exhaustion began to take hold, even though the day had barely reached 7:00 PM. He slipped into a restless sleep cycle, where every fifteen minutes he would check to see is Sharon had woken up.

During one of his sleep increments, about 9:30 PM, he felt a soft hand slide down his arm. His eyes flashed open to Sharon's smile. Though faint, she was smiling, nonetheless. His hand instinctively took hold of her's as they sat in a blistering silence as her face fell, remembering the recent events.

"How many." Her voice was dry and shaky.

"Four. You did all you could."

She clenched her teeth and shut her eyes. How could they have missed the warning signs? The entire funeral could have been avoided.

"Really, Sharon. You shouldn't even have been as close as you were." His attempts to reassure were futile.

"And the team? Julio was next to me." Her voice even wearied than when she awoke.

"Just dusted up. Nobody was hurt."

She paused, returning to her own condition.

"Is it really bad?"

"We can talk about that later." He pushed a piece of matted hair off her face, exposing bruises framing her eyebrow.

She gripped his hand tighter and shook her head, indicating she could take it.

"The doctor glued up the cut on your cheek. He stitched your collar bone and-"

She knew there were bigger injuries, judging by how numb her chest felt.

"-and you have a couple of broken ribs and a punctured lung."

He rubbed her hand, a reminder that she was alive and right in front of him.

"Ok." She swallowed, somehow unable to cry.

She wanted to let it out. The pain, the numbness, the explosion, the death. She was in need of catharsis. She just couldn't let herself inflict the pain that tears would bring on her own body.

"How long before I can go home?"

"I don't know, but, Sharon... I was worried. I was really worried. It was so hard not knowing."

Her cheeks flushed and the flood gates were finally opened. Not because of the pain, but because it had been years since someone cared for her the way Andy does.

"The whole way here, I just kept trying to figure out how I would go on without you. I'd never had to think about before. I can't think about it. What would your kids be without their mother, what would the team be without their captain, what would I be without you?"

Noticing her tears, he reached his fingers to wipe away the exhaustion trickling down her cheeks. Sharon wasn't sure how to respond.

A simple, "I love you too," was all she could manage.

His kiss on her left hand sealed their affection.

"Oh, I almost forgot. The doctor gave me these."

Andy pulled the ring and pair of glasses from the bag.

She reached for the glasses and delicately placed them on her face, where they belonged.

Her gaze lingered on the ring he was holding. That was her engagement ring. Her's. The symbol that their journey, although perilous at times, is worth every second. The only badge she'd ever need was that one ring representing the devotion they shared.

Sharon held out her hand and let Andy slide the ring on her finger.

They were stronger together.


End file.
